Statistcs illuminate the powerful effects of social capital

“It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.”

That familiar phrase is often used in the work world and alludes to the fact that job growth and promotions often come about as a result of networking and having the right connections, rather than the perfect set of qualifications. A new report by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) lends credence to the idea that perhaps one of a person’s most powerful assets is not their checking account balance or the cash they have on hand, but rather their “social capital.” Social capital refers to the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively. Said another way, social capital is “the collection of interpersonal relationships that unite a heterogeneous society.” These relationships could include a person’s relationships to other members of their family, community, church, school, club or any other group they belong to.

WILL released a report last Thursday entitled “Fraying Connections: Exploring Social Capital and its Societal Implications” that evaluates the decline in social capital in our state and explores how that decline has contributed to many societal problems, such as the rise in loneliness and the decline in mental health.

Some key findings highlighted in the report are as follows: – According to Pew Research Center, 79% of Americans believe that we have too little trust in each other.

– Between 1973 and 1994, the number of Americans who attended even one public meeting on town or school affairs in the previous year decreased by 40%.

– The percentage of adults who agree that “most people can be trusted” fell from 55% in 1960 to 35% in 1999. Today, that number is just 22% (source: Robert Putnam’s book, “Bowling Alone).

– The report also analyzed the change in family structures over recent decades, as “evidence is strong that traditional family structures can work to reduce antisocial behavior” and “familial relationships are the most direct form of bonding social capital.”

Some noteworthy statistics include: The average age for first-time marriage was 22 in 1980, 25 in 2000, and 28 in 2023. Today, 25% of adults reach 40 years old without ever marrying. By comparison, it was just 6% in 1980.

In Wisconsin, the percentage of babies born to single mothers in 1990 was about 24.3%. In 2020, this increased to about 37.4%—a 13-point increase.

One meta-analysis in 2013 identified a number of negative outcomes associated with father-absent homes, including an increase in externalizing behaviors like physical aggression and rule breaking, as well as increases in risky behaviors like drug use during the teen years. It also found a negative impact on graduation rates, levels of employment and mental health in adulthood.

– The Surgeon General declared loneliness an epidemic in the United States in 2023. Depressive feelings were reported six times more in the first six months of the pandemic than in 2019. The numbers among young adults are particularly staggering; 79% of young adults aged 18 to 24 report being lonely compared to 41% of adults older than 66 years.

Loneliness and social isolation have also been linked with increases in negative and violent behaviors, and studies have shown that it is the leading factor in those who commit mass shootings. Loneliness also leads to higher risks of dementia, heart disease and stroke.

The report is not all doom and gloom. Wisconsin actually ranks third in the U.S. for social capital strength. That ranking came from data gathered by Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, which began researching the associational life of Americans in 2017 and released a Social Capital Project. They collected data on 26 variables that they sorted into seven subindices: family unity (marriage and single motherhood rates), family interaction (including how often children are read to and their amount of screen time), social support (which includes how often people receive emotional support and how much they trust their neighbors), community health (civic and community engagement), institutional health (people’s level of confidence in institutions), the rate of violent crime, and philanthropic health (the percentage of people making charitable contributions).

An analysis of all those factors found that Wisconsin ranked third in social capital, behind only Minnesota (second) and Utah (first) and far above other Midwestern states like Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. That being said, there is always room for improvement.

The benefits of increased social capital are numerous but include improved health, the sharing of resources, higher academic achievement and greater government responsiveness. An increase in social capital also translates into greater economic mobility. Researcher Raj Chetty (The Social Capital Atlas, socialcapital.org) found that there is greater potential for upward economic mobility when communities are better connected across socioeconomic lines. As an example, among those in the bottom 10% of income earners, only 2% of their friends belong to the top 10% of earners. Conversely, low-income children who grew up in a more economically connected county had 20% higher incomes on average in adulthood.

Working to build social capital can help us lead healthier, more connected, more prosperous lives and serve as an antidote to loneliness. If nothing else, this report serves to underscore just how important it is to cultivate healthy relationships with the people in our lives, as much as depends on us—first and foremost with family, but also with friends and others we see on a regular basis. It also shows the value of joining some sort of club, group or volunteer organization and being part of something larger than yourself. If you aren’t part of any group like that, maybe now is the time to try. You never know the connections you could make.

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